BOOK
REVIEWCoaches' Notebook: Games and Strategies for Lactation Education

In Coach’s
Notebook: Games and Strategies for Lactation Education, Linda J.
Smith has gathered games and advice for presenting breastfeeding classes.
This book is a source of inspiration and an aid for breastfeeding instructors.
It is also a guide designing and delivering professional-style presentations
that are spiced up with games and activities in lieu of a straightforward
lecture.

Leaders could
use some of these games at Series Meetings for a portion of the time,
then use the remaining time for a more free-flowing mother-to-mother
sharing discussion. Another idea is to customize the games by stretching
them out—asking a mother to speak about her part of the game, voicing
her opinions, and sharing her personal experiences.

Smith feels
that using games adds an element of fun to the learning experience,
increases the learners’ attention span, and aids with the retention
of the presented information. Smith has combined auditory, kinesthetic,
and visual elements to appeal to these three different learning styles.

Chapter One
contains basic presentation skills combined with Smith’s tips based
on her many years of experience as an instructor and a board-certified
lactation consultant. Smith covers the structure, flow, and appropriate
timing of each component of the presentation. Discussion about the use
of breastfeeding props, and the pros and cons of using audio-visual
equipment are also included. Experienced Leaders who are not confident
with their current presentation style or who have had difficulty organizing
their material into what they consider a smooth presentation may find
this concise information useful. Leaders who plan to give presentations
at LLL Conferences would benefit from the information in this chapter,
as well.

The challenge
of deciding what to present is acknowledged as a common stumbling block.
With all we know about breastfeeding, it can be hard to decide how to
limit content to fit within a certain time frame. Smith provides good
tips about how to pare down everything we want to present. Suggestions
about determining what is the most important information to cover versus
what would be "nice to know" are included. Smith states that
we should remember that breastfeeding is 10 to 15 percent instruction
and 85 to 90 percent practice, and that students only retain 10 to 50
percent of the presented information. She wisely cautions against overloading
parents with too much information.

In Chapter Two,
Smith provides five icebreaker activities to choose from. Later chapters
contain six games for use with the general public and 14 games for presenting
specific topics or concepts in depth. The last chapter contains 10 games
for any audience. These games contain "neat and nifty ideas from
master teachers from around the world" that "convey the uniqueness
of breastfeeding in creative and effective ways."

All of the games
and activities in the book are well organized and easy to understand.
Key information is easily scanned on the first page: the goal, the best
audience for the game, the amount of time required to play, and how
to play. Details such as trivia facts with source citations are included.
Almost every game is complete and requires no research on the part of
the presenter. However, thought must go into the planning of the presentation
and some require game pieces, game cards, or other resources that need
to be prepared ahead of time. Smith also recommends a practice run-through
before the actual presentation begins to work out any kinks.

Some of the
activities include learning the composition of human milk, really hearing
what a mother is trying to communicate with sample statements, figuring
out if a medication is compatible with breastfeeding, and how to evaluate
research studies about breastfeeding. Games for the general public include
a handful related to emotions such as exploring negative feelings related
to feeding choices or past guilt about not breastfeeding. There is a
breastfeeding trivia game complete with questions and answers. For games
where the attendees discuss opinions or emotions, Smith includes the
typical answers and details to elaborate on them. Some games require
the players to use breastfeeding references to look up answers and come
to conclusions.

Leaders or Peer
Counselors who teach breastfeeding classes will find this an invaluable
tool. Lactation consultants or nurses who make presentations to health
care professionals about breastfeeding will also appreciate this resource.
Only a few of the games in this book would be useful for LLL Series
Meetings. However, any Leader who is doing a formal presentation about
breastfeeding such as at a District Workshop, Chapter Meeting, or at
an LLL Area Conference, could use the games in this book as a ready-made
presentation. This book is not recommended for use in Group Libraries
because it is specifically for use by breastfeeding educators. This
book can save loads of preparation time by giving all that is needed
to play these creative and informative teaching games.